Chapter 601

After waging war with the Tribal Alliance and swiftly absorbing the surrendered warriors, Ai-shan’s total combat power reached seventy-five thousand.

Twenty thousand infantry, forty-four thousand cavalry, and ten thousand heavy cavalry.

Adding thirty Paladins, fifteen hundred warriors, and four heroes including Or-han, it was an overwhelming force.

They were a transcendent legion, comparable—no, qualitatively several times superior—to the Empire’s total power during its prime.

Of course, having a total force of seventy-five thousand didn’t mean they could mobilize all of them immediately. If that were possible, Ludwig would have been drafting his will instead of strategizing against the enemy.

The number seventy-five thousand was merely a numerical total. In reality, Ai-shan could mobilize no more than sixty thousand at most.

It had been less than a month since the Great Plains Unification War. The time was far from sufficient to recover from the damages incurred.

While the lightly wounded could somehow be mobilized, those who lost limbs or suffered internal injuries were in no condition to fight, let alone move.

Such individuals numbered sixteen thousand. And that was excluding those with no hope of recovery.

Those who lost both arms and couldn’t wield weapons, the blind who lost their eyes, those whose internal organs were rotting.

For Westerners, such injuries could be healed by priests and long-term care, but for Easterners, physical loss was an irreparable grave injury.

Ka`har regarded priests as a type of sorcerer and thus rejected them.

Of course, these severely wounded warriors, who could no longer fight, were still respected as warriors who had devoted themselves to Ai-shan…

But the respect of others couldn’t soothe the frustration and depression of those whose lives as warriors had ended. Most of them either drowned themselves in alcohol or gave up on life.

Those who lost their legs were slightly better off. They couldn’t move as before, but if tied to a saddle, they could at least fight as cavalry.

Anyway, Ai-shan’s current combat-ready forces numbered less than sixty thousand. And even then, deploying all of them for the barrier assault was impossible.

Although the grasslands were mostly empty, Ai-shan’s territory had expanded to rival the Empire’s, and to govern and manage it, at least ten thousand troops had to be kept in reserve.

The unstable situation in the Great Plains, the emerging threat of monsters, and the unresolved issue of sorcerers—if all forces were poured into the barrier, there would be no way to handle these problems.

As a result, Ai-shan could only deploy less than fifty thousand troops for the war against the Empire.

And among them, about six thousand disappeared before they could even fight properly, along with eight of the twenty-eight Paladins.

This was the achievement of Ludwig’s strategy and Ha-shal-leur’s martial prowess.

—

Information about the Westerners who had breached the barrier and launched a surprise attack was relayed to Ordos through messengers scattered across the grasslands.

Ha-shal-leur’s special forces advancing toward Ordos and Joshua’s main force wreaking havoc south of Ordos. Most of the information reaching Ordos was about the special forces.

It was a natural outcome. Joshua’s main force used every means possible to delay the spread of information, while Ha-shal-leur’s special forces left traces everywhere instead of hiding their movements.

Blood-stained flags, provocations carved on the walls of ruined bases, and the pleas of refugees fleeing to Ordos.

When Ha-shal-leur roamed alone, there were no witnesses, so opinions were divided on whether she had truly returned. But now, no one doubted her return.

Ai-shan Gi-or’s traitor had returned.

And in just a year, she had become a powerhouse that might surpass even the War Chiefs.

Information about Ha-shal-leur’s strength came only from refugee accounts, so her exact level was unknown, but it was certain she had surpassed the Paladins.

“We must execute the traitor Ha-shal-leur, the shame of Ai-shan!”

“Now that the traitor has left the Empire, this is our chance. According to the refugees, her forces number no more than a few hundred. We can capture her with minimal losses now!”

Upon hearing the news, the warriors of Ordos clamored to capture and execute the traitor immediately.

Their anger, their demands, were justified. She was a woman who had betrayed the Khan, Ai-shan, and Ka`har.

Despite being a mixed-blood with Westerner blood, she had been treated as the Khan’s daughter, yet she forgot that grace, clung to the Empire, wagged her tail, and caused the deaths of countless compatriots. She was a traitor among traitors.

“Hmm…”

But Or-han, instead of issuing a decisive order to immediately march and bring back the traitor’s head, stroked his beard with a troubled expression.

‘Is he hesitating? Blood ties…? No, considering the punishment Amin received, it can’t be because of blood ties. Perhaps he still has lingering feelings for her talent.’

The officials gathered in the main palace understood Or-han’s conflict. Or at least, they thought they did. Among those gathered, no one was unaware of the expectations Or-han had placed on Ha-shal-leur.

Now treated as a shameful traitor, Ha-shan-leur was once hailed as Ai-shan’s greatest genius. Despite her mixed Western blood, young age, and being a woman, she was considered a potential successor to the Khan.

That’s why Or-han’s sons had been so wary of her.

“Kagan, we understand the sorrow in your heart…”

“Sorrow? Understand?”

Or-han interrupted the official, raising an eyebrow.

“You are gravely mistaken. Since when have you had the right to judge my intentions? I do not recall permitting such arrogance.”

“F-forgive me! Please pardon my insolence!”

The official, having spoken out of turn and offended Or-han, knelt and bowed, trembling.

Or-han silently looked down at him before turning his gaze to the other officials.

“They crossed the barrier with a mere few hundred troops, and you think it’s a perfect opportunity? Do you truly believe that? Even if Ha-shan-leur is that reckless, was Ludwig so foolish as to not consider such a risk?”

The officials couldn’t answer. Even those who despised the Westerners couldn’t underestimate Ludwig.

Ai-shan’s longtime nemesis who had held them off for decades. To underestimate him would be like spitting while lying down.

“Rather than seeing a small force as an opportunity, shouldn’t we be wary of why they crossed the barrier with only a few hundred troops despite being able to mobilize more?”

“A bait to lure us in… Then it must be a trap or a diversion.”

One of Ai-shan’s three War Chiefs, Ibamai, responded softly.

While most of Ka`har’s warriors were muscle-headed, he was one who could at least use his brain.

“My thoughts exactly. They might have a large force lying in ambush to annihilate our pursuit force, or they might be using the special forces as a diversion while their main force targets elsewhere. We can’t be sure which yet.”

Or-han had already grasped Ludwig’s strategy.

Of course, he hadn’t fully deciphered it, but he at least knew that Ha-shan-leur and her few hundred troops were just bait. It was something anyone with a bit of thought could guess.

“…What do you intend to do? If they’re just bait to lure us in, is leaving them be the best course?”

Another warrior cautiously asked. If we don’t want to be the prey caught by the bait, do we have no choice but to leave them be?

Or-han shook his head.

“That can’t be. Doing so would only increase the losses of our scattered warriors. Even if we know it’s bait, we have no choice but to pursue them.”

It was a method where even knowing, we had to take the bait. If we ignored them, they would roam freely like wolves among sheep.

Unless a War Chief-level powerhouse stepped in, the Paladins scattered across various bases couldn’t stop Ha-shan-leur’s cavalry, as the refugees coming to Ordos had already proven.

“Then the question is, how large a force should we mobilize?”

“Exactly.”

Or-han nodded in agreement. That was precisely the part he had been pondering while stroking his beard.

If Ha-shan-leur’s goal was to lure the pursuit force into a trap, we needed to mobilize as many troops as possible. Even if ambushed, we could counter and annihilate them.

Conversely, if her goal was to buy time for a diversion, we needed to preserve our forces to deal with their main force.

‘Ordos’s standing forces are eight thousand Black Armies and ten thousand White Armies. Plus about six thousand Blue Armies. We can’t mobilize infantry or heavy cavalry for pursuit, so sending the Blue Armies is the best option.’

Having made his decision, Or-han spoke.

“I will lead six thousand Blue Armies on a personal campaign. Even if Ludwig has set a trap, it won’t be a problem.”

Based on past experience, even if Ludwig squeezed his forces to the limit, securing more than four thousand cavalry would be impossible. With over half the enemy’s numbers, defeat in cavalry combat was out of the question.

Even if they mobilized infantry to set a trap, the Blue Armies’ mobility would allow them to shake off the slow Empire infantry and escape.

The only uncertainty was Ha-shan-leur’s martial prowess, but Or-han didn’t believe she had surpassed him yet, no matter how strong she had become.

‘Even a heaven-sent genius can’t achieve that in just a year.’

Or-han highly valued Ha-shan-leur’s talent, but he believed it would take at least four years for her to surpass him.

In the original story, Ha-shan-leur succeeded Or-han around that time, so it was a fairly accurate prediction.

That is, if Ha-shan-leur remained as she was.

“If it’s a diversion and not a trap… Targien. I leave it to you. Find War Chief Hatan and lead ten thousand Enemy Armies to confront their main force.”

“I obey, Father!”

Targien knelt on one knee and shouted loudly. Excitement and thrill he couldn’t contain shook his shoulders.

Targien, who had been discontent that Sahallyeon, not him, had taken on the heavy responsibility of stabilizing the Eastern occupied territories, must have felt this was a perfect opportunity to earn merit.